There were a number of sessions during TTG that focused on how procurement in the industry has been changing, but for 2026 procurement seems to have been an “underlying theme” across both presentations and on panels.
During Tim Jefferson’s in-depth procurement panel on Tuesday, Alvaro Madrigal Montes de Oca (Mexico City), Dr Andrew Seedhouse (SAM UK) and Carl Fisher, of GTS Rail (the Elizabeth line operator, UK) provided real insight from a local transport authority (LTA) procurement framework and transport operator viewpoint. One notable take-out was the necessity of “being a good client”. This means transparency, being open with the supplier base, engaging and sharing as much and as early as possible. Also key is encouraging innovation and trying to get the supplier base as wide as possible, by defining standards-based requirements and building structured procurement frameworks.
Martin Bradshaw and Tamara Cambell from Adelaide (Australia), gave a brilliant and different view of how to procure correctly, with an aptly named presentation titled “Am I making my ABT delivery harder? (And how not to)”. Martin provided real insight into the need to focus on “outcomes, reducing complexity, talking and engaging with bidders during the procurement process, aligning your requirements with market solutions and most importantly building a partnership with suppliers”. Tamara then demonstrated how they applied this thinking and procurement logic with a staged roll out across buses, trams and heavy rail. Her messages were really clear, “start small and keep moving forward and make sure you are aligned with you supplier”.
Another great insight for procurement was the presentation on the recent Littlepay cEMV implementation in WMATA in Washington (US). This fast-paced cEMV add-on to an existing system, demonstrates that with clear and focused requirements, a procurement can be turned around and successfully delivered at speed., In this case within six months! Openness by the transit agency during the procurement process and a partnership approach again shone through. A clear and guiding procurement message to take from TTG 26!
